College football: Northern State University slams Crookston 48-0

October 17, 2010|From staff reports

The losing streak is over. Northern State blanked Minnesota-Crookston 38-0 on Saturday in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference game. It was the Wolves first win of the season in seven games. They snapped an eight-game overall losing streak dating back to last season, which was the fifth-longest active losing streak in Division II. It was Northern's first win since Oct. 24, 2009, when it shutout Minnesota State-Moorhead 23-0 in Aberdeen. It was Tom Dosch's first win as the Northern State head football coach. Would have liked to have it a little bit ago, Dosch said, but it is what it is. It is always good to get the first one. The Wolves racked up season-highs in total yards (409), rushing yards (260) and first downs (28). Northern State's 38 points was the most scored since it defeated Crookston 34-17 last season. We controlled the line of scrimmage with our offensive line, Dosch said. We did some different things. Northern's defense was just as impressive. It limited Crookston to just 135 total yards, 15 passing yards and only seven first downs. We did a good job getting some pressure on them and knocking them around a little bit, Dosch said. The Wolves scored their first touchdown with nine minutes and 48 seconds left in the first quarter. Joei Fiegler connected with Matt Anderson for a six yard touchdown reception. NSU's Adam Carvajal then intercepted a Tim Ennis pass attempt on Crookston's first offensive play of the game. Northern took over at Crookston's 29-yard line and nine plays later Chad Morrison scored on a one-yard plunge to put the Wolves up 14-0. Thomas Parrott booted a 43-yard field goal with 13:39 in the second quarter to put NSU up 17-0. Morrison scored again with 1:24 left before halftime to give the Wolves a 24-0 lead. The touchdown right before the half was big, Dosch said. Nick Wanner scored on a five-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to give the Wolves a 31-0 lead with 1:13 left in the quarter. Morrison scored his third touchdown of the game with 3:11 left in the game on a nine-yard touchdown run. With leading rusher Montrel Richardson still out with a knee injury, the Wolves used several different players at the running back position. Six different players carried the ball. One of them was Wanner, the backup quarterback, who lined up as the running back at times and had 78 rushing yards. Wide receiver John Michael Midgal also lined up as a tailback and had 40 rushing yards. Zak Kjolsing, who is listed as a defensive back on the roster, had three carries for 15 yards. We were trying to get our best players on the field, Dosch said. Nick Wanner is a good football player. We wanted to get him on the field. It was kind of a patchwork-committee kind of deal (at running back). We thought we would be able to run the ball and we were in a number of different ways. Anderson, a true freshman, had a career-high 90 rushing yards on 17 carries. Fiegler had 47 rushing yards on five carries and completed 11-of-16 for 110 passing yards. His counterpart Ennis completed just three of his 13 pass attempts and did not complete his first pass until the third quarter. Northern State had the ball for 41 minutes. For the first time in a month, we thought we had some advantages on the offensive and defensive lines, Dosch said. Overall, a good solid effort. The Wolves will need to bring that same solid effort this Saturday. Northern State (1-6, 1-5 NSIC) will host powerhouse Minnesota-Duluth (7-0, 6-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Clark Swisher Field. The Bulldogs are the second-ranked team in Division II and are just two years removed from winning a national championship. That is a heck of an opportunity, Dosch said about playing the Bulldogs. Northern State (1-6, 1-5 NSIC)É14 10 7 7-38 Minnesota-Crookston (1-6, 0-6)É 0 0 0 0- 0 First Quarter NSU - Matt Anderson 6 pass from Joei Fiegler (Thomas Parrott kick), 9:48. NSU - Chad Morrison 1 run (Parrott kick), 5:38. Second Quarter NSU - Parrott 43 field goal, 13:39. NSU - Morrison 1 run (Parrott kick), 1:24. Third Quarter NSU - Nick Wanner 5 run (Parrott kick), 1:13. Fourth Quarter NSU - Morrison 9 run (Felipe Alfaia kick), 3:11. NSUUMCFirstdownsÉ28 7Rushes-yardsÉ60-260 25-120Passing-yardsÉ149 15Comp-Att-IntÉ14-21-0 3-13-1TotalNetYardsÉ409 135TotalplaysÉ81 38Fumbles-LostÉ2-1 2-1Penalties-YardsÉ5-60 5-50Punts-yardsÉ2-104 6-173Kickoffs-yardsÉ7-412 1-60Punt-yardsÉ2-104 6-173ThirddownsÉ9-15 1-9FourthdownsÉ2-2 0-1RedzoneÉ5-7 0-1 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING - Northern State, Matt Anderson 17-89, Joei Fiegler 5-47, Nick Wanner 15-43, John Michael Migdal 9-40, Chad Morrison 9-32, Zak Kjolsing 3-13, Team 2-(minus 4); Minnesota-Crookston, Keith McBride 15-102, Brett Rice 4-20, David Anderson 3-6, Josh Perea 1-(minus 1), Tim Ennis 2-(minus 7). PASSING - Northern State, Fiegler 11-16 for 110, Wanner 3-5 for 39; Minnesota-Crookston, Ennis 3-13-1 for 15. RECEIVING - Northern State, Mark Hanley 5-48, Migdal 4-35, Zuri Nance 1-32, Mike Haderlie 1-15, Morrison 1-7, Trevor Mau 1-6, Anderson 1-6; Minnesota-Crookston, Chris Clay 1-6, Eric Ogorek 1-6, Antoni Williams 1-3. DEFENSE - Northern State, Tony Pruss 4 tackles, Logan Dosch 3 tackles, Shane Clancy 2 tackles, Chris Arnold 2 tackles; Minnesota-Crookston, Cecil Brown 11 tackles, Casey Byram 9 tackles.